5-Day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu via Humantay and Llactapata

After picking everyone up from their hotel or respective location, we leave Cusco around 5:45 am and drive for 2 hours to the town of Mollepata. Once in Mollepata, we stop for a delicious breakfast and pay the entrance fee of 10 soles to the local municipality. Then we continue by car for 1 more hour to Soraypampa, where we meet the muleteers and horses that will carry the luggage, food, and up to 7 kilos of each hiker's personal belongings in duffle bags.

We begin the uphill hike to Humantay Lake, which takes about 2 hours. When you arrive at the lagoon, you will have enough time to explore, take photographs, and listen as the guide explains the meaning of Humantay Lagoon. After spending a couple of hours at the lake, we hike down for 2 hours to the exclusive Quiswarniyoc camp for a healthful lunch.

After lunch, you will have free time to explore the beautiful area. If you would like more hiking, you can go up to the Salkantay viewpoint for a panoramic view of the entire region. If you are tired, you can rest in the MOUNTAIN SKY HUST, cabins with glass doors equipped with pillows, sleeping pads, and lighting for the night.

The second day of the trek is the most difficult because it takes you up to 4630 m and covers 20 km of trekking. The cooks will wake you up around 5:00 am with a cup of hot coca tea, and then you will have time to repack and get ready for the nutritious breakfast, which is served around 5:45 am.

After breakfast, it is time to start hiking up to the highest point of the Salkantay Trail at 4630 m. This uphill hike takes from 3 to 4 hours at a regular and slow pace. Once you reach the highest point, you will have time to enjoy the mountains, take pictures, and listen as the guide teaches you about the mountain gods. You will also take part in a small Andean ritual for the Apus, the mountain gods.

Then you start hiking down for 2 hours to the lunch place to rest and enjoy a delicious lunch. After that, you continue hiking down for 3 more hours to the second camp, Chaullay, where we provide you with camping equipment, tea time, and dinner. If you like, for 10 soles you can rent a hot shower from the locals and buy some drinks. The camp is called Chaullay, located at 2900 m right at the beginning of the Peruvian Amazon area.

The third day is beautiful but warm, as you will already be in the jungle area. We wake you up around 6:00 am with a cup of coca tea. We provide you with a delicious breakfast, and after breakfast, around 7:00 am, you start the hike to La Playa Sahuayaco, which takes approximately 5 hours along the Santa Teresa Valley formed by the Salkantay River.

Along the valley, you have the chance to see plantations such as coffee, bananas, avocados, coca, passion fruit, and much more. After 5 hours of hiking, you will arrive at La Playa Sahuayaco, from where you will take local transportation for 1 hour to Santa Teresa, which is the third campsite.

Once at the camp, you will have a delicious lunch. Then there is enough time to get ready for those who want to go to the beautiful hot springs of Colcampayo, located 15 minutes away by car from the camp. You may spend a couple of hours there, or as long as you like, depending on what the group decides. The hot springs are outdoor, natural, and filled with clean water, making them a great place to relax. Then you go back to the campsite, where you will have tea time and a warm dinner. If you like, you may also take part in small celebrations around a bonfire.

Llactapata is the only Inca ruin along the Salkantay Trail that you have the chance to visit on the fourth day, and from Llactapata you can see Machu Picchu from a beautiful and different angle. For this beautiful trek, you start very early in Santa Teresa, with breakfast around 5:30 am.

Then you take local transportation for 45 minutes to Lucmabamba to begin the uphill hike. After 3 hours on the original Inca Trail, you reach the Inca ruins of Llactapata. You will have enough time to enjoy the views of Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu Mountain, and, if you are lucky with the weather, you may also see Salkantay Mountain once more.

Afterwards, you start hiking downhill to Hidroeléctrica for 2 hours to have a nutritious lunch and rest for a while. Then you begin the last part of the hike to Aguas Calientes, walking for 3 more hours along the train track. Once you arrive in the small town, we take you to the hostel, where you have time to rest and shower. Around 7:00 pm, the guide will organize the last supper in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes. After that, we go to sleep because the next day you need to start very early to go to Machu Picchu.

On the last day of the tour, you are going to visit Machu Picchu. You need to wake up around 4:00 am to get ready for the hike to the main entrance of Machu Picchu. After grabbing your packed breakfast, you start walking to the Puente Ruinas checkpoint for 30 minutes. It opens at 5:00 am, and there you have to show your passport and your Machu Picchu tickets.

After you pass the first checkpoint, you will hike uphill for 1 hour to Machu Picchu's main gate, arriving around 6:00 am. Once everybody meets at the gate, you go into Machu Picchu for a 2.5-hour guided tour to learn everything about the Lost City of the Incas. After the guided tour, you have free time to explore the Inca city of Machu Picchu on your own.

At 6:45 pm, you will take the train to Ollantaytambo, and from there a bus will drive you to your hotel in Cusco.